Montréal-based supply chain SaaS startup Axya closed a $3.9 million seed extension round in December led by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) Capital with participation from Real Ventures, Ecofuel, and a group of angel investors.
This brings the company’s total funding to $5.4 million in the last year across two rounds of all-equity seed funding. The first round was $1.5 million CAD, and closed in March.
Founded in 2019, Axya (formerly known as GRAD4) offers an artificial intelligence-powered software solution to help large manufacturing enterprises organize their outsourcing process mainly for their custom metal parts.
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The platform connects buyers with suppliers through its parts marketplace, built-in messenger system, and computer-aided design viewer for custom parts contracting. Users have access to a network of over 350 qualified suppliers in the aerospace, transport, and mining industries.
Once the client’s operations are integrated into the platform, Axya’s technology can provide data to prompt strategic decisions.
Axya previously received support from the CDL accelerator and went through the MaRS Supply Chain accelerator to aid in its commercialization efforts. In June 2020, the startup raised $100,000 in pre-seed funding.
The initial $1.5 million financing allowed Axya to expand its reach to Ontario, Canada and the Northeast United States. The company claims that in August 132 companies signed up to use the platform. The funds from the second seed round will be used to accelerate the deployment of Axya’s offering.
As the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the wider adoption of technology in multiple industries, government agencies have been active in funding the startups that provide them to aid in quicker procurement.
Along with 27 industry partners, Next Generation Manufacturing Canada invested $11.3 million into nine Canadian projects in 2020 aimed to support unique manufacturing capabilities in Canada.
